Easily Maiden's most underrated album. People actually enjoy trashing at Blaze instead of appreciating his voice. Songwriting is awesome here, only two tracks aren't really interesting (The Angel and the Gambler and Como Estais Amigos) while the rest are diverse and very good songs. I prefer this over Brave New World or Dance of Death, with no doubt about it. This, despite of the critical bash it got, is one of Maiden's (Harris') better albums. m/

being a maiden fan since i can remember i think this is the better of the 2 blaze albums only because i think on this album they wanted to do a " bruce" album i.e. sound like the maiden the fans wanted to here this doesn't make it a great album by any stretch but after listening to "brave new world" then this it is easier to hear Bruce doing the vocals on this album than on X and it's for this very reason that Blaze fails. The di'anno albums are raw fresh & laiden with potential, Iron Maiden more so than Killers, Bruce realises that potential x10, Blaze was only a stop gap thank god for Bruce's & Adrian's reintroduction

I actually really like this one LOL. But seriously, I don't get it, this is a very good album and unique among Maiden's albums. I think is way better than The X Factor. Are people deaf or what? I really really like it.

There are only two pitfalls in this album: Blaze, and the excessive repetitiveness in The Angel and the Gambler. With that said, Iron Maiden should re-record this album (along with The X Factor) and the average rating of this album would probably jump to a 3.5 - 3.8. I say this because the songs performed off of this album live with Bruce Dickinson behind the microphone sound more alive than the studio with Blaze on vocals.

'Virtual XI' is a woefully underated album. The record sees Iron Maiden at their most melancholic and atmospheric. Almost everything hits the spot on this record, from the thunderous opener 'Futureal' to the slightly overlong but awesome epic 'The Clansman' through to the twin peaks of sadness 'Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger' and 'Como Estais Amigos'. "So why not a classic rating?" I hear you cry. Well, the album has one MAJOR blip on it in the guise of it's lead single 'The Angel And The Gambler'. If this track had cut off at the five minute mark, it would have made for a nice, if forgettable addition to the album. By dragging it on well past the ten minute mark, the band turn the track into a form of audio torture and lower the quality of the whole record in the process. Ah well...

Maiden definitely improve upon The X Factor here. The songs, though still long, generally avoid dragging out thanks to a quicker pacing. And Blaze Baylay's vocals are noticeably superior this time around, as he can now carry out louder vocal styles (though he's still in Dickinson's shadow). Even with a lack of truly excellent songs, Virtual XI shows that a band who have already established themselves highly in the metal community don't need to be dismissed over one member being replaced.

Perhaps due to a heavy pro-Maiden bias, or the fact that one day I finally got over the spite I some how was feeling towards replacement vocalist Blaze Baily, this album - as with the previous - is still a fun listen for me. I don't see how other fans of the band can't recognize all the classic Maiden elements. This album still has a lot of great songs on it, and I think Blaze does a great job covering for Dickinson. My only major beef with his vocals/lyrics (though I'm not sure if he'd be responsible for this or if Steve Harris would...) would be the constant repetition of the tracks' chorus or main hook. It tends to get more then annoying after a while, and sorta showcases Baily's weaknesses. This record shouldn't be ignored by fans or aspiring fans of this band, though its urgency for listening is much lower then its bretheren.

Better production, better preformance from Blaze. Only thing wrong with this album is by this point Maiden stopped doing anything really cool musically. Its all just E, C, G, and D for pretty much every song. That said, it doesnt deserve the thrashing it gets.

This isnt that bad of an album as its thought to be actually. Sure there are bad songs on this album, but Futureal is an Iron Maiden classic, the best blaze era song recorded, the clansman was also not half bad. the angel and the gambler is not so good though.